Wall System Having Furniture Modules and Accessories for Attaching and Finishing the Modules

Abstract

A furniture system has multiple modules in which two or more modules may be arranged together in a variety of combinations. Adjacent modules may be attached using turnbuckles which evenly space the modules and provide a gap between modules. The gap may be masked with removable pilasters that match the finish of the furniture modules. The outer walls of each module are unfinished and therefore end caps may be secured to the outer walls of an assembled system. The end caps match the finish of the modules. Each module has associated with it height adjustable rollers and at least one of those rollers may be locked to prevent rotation.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 961,237 filed Jul. 19, 2007.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The invention relates to RTA (Ready-To-Assemble) furniture and more particularly, to furniture modules that are provided with hardware permitting easy assembly and disassembly while, at the same time, retaining continuity between modules to provide the appearance of a continuous furniture system.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]The assembly and disassembly of RTA furniture modules to provide a furniture system often times becomes difficult because, in order for the modules to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance, adjacent modules must be uniformly spaced apart, while at the same time, uniformly level so that they appear to be one continuous unit. Because of the weight of individual furniture modules, manipulating and securing adjacent modules together is diff...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In a furniture system having a plurality of separate and distinct modules adjacent to one another defining interior modules and two end modules, wherein each module has two opposing outer walls, one embodiment of the invention is directed toward an apparatus for aligning and securing together adjacent modules. The apparatus has a first mounting bracket secured to the outer wall of one of the modules, a second mounting bracket secured to the outer wall of an adjacent module, and a mechanism for moving the module outer walls toward one another. The mechanism pulls the first mounting bracket and the second mounting bracket together, thereby moving the module outer walls toward one another and establishing a desired gap therebetween.

[0008]In a furniture system having a plurality of separate and distinct generally rectangular modules, wherein each module has two opposing outer walls and, wherein when modules are adjacent to one another, there is a gap therebetween defined by the distance between the outer walls. Another embodiment of the subject invention is directed to an apparatus for masking the gap. The apparatus has a pad connected to an outer wall of the first module. The pad is connected to an outer wall of the second module. A pilaster is secured to each pad over the g...

Problems solved by technology

The assembly and disassembly of RTA furniture modules to provide a furniture system often times becomes difficult because, in order for the modules to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance, adjacent modules must be uniformly spaced apart, while at the same time, uniformly level so that they appear to be one continuous unit.

Because of the weight of individual furniture modules, manipulating and securing adjacent modules together is difficult and without proper initial alignment of the modules, fasteners that may be used to attach modules in the end may produce an undesirable result of misaligned furniture modules.

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